Why Are Photo Contests Completely In Fashion?

Long before the wonders of the internet, amateur photographers used to be something of a lonely breed. They had few people to showcase their work to and in general, everything they snapped was for their own satisfaction.

Suffice to say, the above has changed. While this article is going to mainly concentrate on photo contests, it would be fair to say that the whole of technology in regards to social media, forums and any other sort of communication platform has transformed life for the amateur. However, sticking to our original aim, here’s why online photography contests seem to be the big thing in fashion at the moment.

Reason #1 – Cha-ching.

First and foremost, let’s not skim over perhaps the main reason why a lot of photographers turn to this route. Many of the contests offer lucrative cash rewards, or sometimes something more tangible such as a trip away.

To put this into perspective: once upon a time these snaps would simply go into a scrapbook, now they’re out there for all to see and can make you a tidy profit.

Reason #2 – Let’s make friends.

In some ways, these contests are a bit like social networks. In essence, they are user communities that bring photography enthusiasts together. While you might not know anyone in your physical region that shares your hobby, by logging onto your favourite contest site you’ll find potentially thousands that do.

For some people, this won’t be an obvious advantage. However, it brings another dimension to amateur photography and instead of shoving your scrapbook into the face of any visitor to your home, you’ve now got a much more welcoming set of people to target.

Reason #3 – Get taught by the experts.

These very people might actually be able to teach you a thing or two about photography. If we take a look at one of the most popular contest sites in the form of photocontestinsider.com, you’ll soon see that many of the users boast fantastic knowledge of the industry. As such, anything that you do post will immediately get some sort of feedback, while questions on these sites are gleefully accepted and this can prove another fruitful way to improve your work.

Even if you don’t receive many pointers from your peers, you should expect feedback from the judges “marking” your work. It won’t happen in all contests, but a lot of the time even those entries that don’t win will receive some critique which can prove invaluable for future attempts.

Reason #4 – Hit the big break.

Finally, and this is perhaps the reason why so many photographers are turning to contests now – hitting the big time. All you need is one of your images to be shared, and the domino effect occurs. From that point on, your name is in the spotlight – and this can also impact the famous cha-ching effect we spoke about earlier.

In fact, it doesn’t even have to be a social share that gets your career going. One of the big agencies might just fall head over heels with your work, and the rest as they say would be history. Photography contests are no longer a fad, or perhaps an ego-brusher – they can work wonders for your career as well.